Oil filter canister removal tool

Abstract

An oil filter canister removal tool comprising a cup-shaped plastic body long enough to receive the filter therein and of sufficient diameter as to provide radial clearance between the filter canister and the top rim of the body. A snug fit can be provided by integral flutes or bonded in strips of elastomeric material. In operation the tool is slipped over a canister after the canister has been loosened relative to the engine block. The tool is manually rotated until the canister is free of the engine. The tool can be cleaned up and reused after disposal of the oil filter canister. The tool may also be thrown away with the used filter.

1. A universal removal tool for engine oil filter canisters comprising:
 a substantially cup-shaped body of molded plastic having a bottom and cylindrical wall of a given diameter and of sufficient length so as to substantially fully receive an oil filter canister therein, and circular top rim of greater diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical wall to create a radial clearance between the tool and the canister when the tool is disposed over the canister; and 
 a plurality of inwardly projecting, circumferentially spaced, longitudinal flutes formed on the inside surface of the cylindrical wall between the top rim and the bottom to create snug contact between the body and an oil filter canister inside of said body and an exact corresponding number of spaced, longitudinal concavities on the outside surface of said wall at the exact same locations on the cylindrical wall as the spaced, longitudinal flutes on the inside surface of the cylindrical wall except on the outside surface. 
 
   
   
     2. A tool as defined in  claim 1  wherein the plastic is an EPDM. 
   
   
     3. A universal drip-catching removal tool for an engine oil filter canister comprising:
 a substantially cup-shaped body having a cylindrical wall of a diameter large enough to receive an engine oil filter canister therein with a radial clearance between the canister and the body and an integral band defining a top rim of the body having a greater diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical wall, the cup-shaped body being of sufficient axial length to fully receive and enclose an oil filter canister therein; and 
 a plurality of inwardly projecting, circumferentially spaced, longitudinal flutes formed on the inside surface of the cylindrical wall to create snug contact between the body and an oil filter canister inside of said body, and an exact corresponding number of spaced, longitudinal concavities on the outside surface of said wall at the exact same locations on the cylindrical wall as the spaced, longitudinal flutes on the inside surface of the cylindrical wall except on the outside surface.